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LiveCD for Secure Web Browsing?

Posted by Cliff on from the minimizing-the-risks dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "Say you want to do your online Internet banking on your home PC, with a bank that lets you send actual money to complete strangers online, and you want to be really, really sure that some hacker isn't stealing your password or your money or both. You don't fully trust Windows, despite your best efforts to keep it secure, and you know that no OS installed on a hard disk is guaranteed secure or immune to root-kits and the like. You know enough about computer security to know that you are always just one careless mouse click or one security hole away from being screwed. You've read the advice from your bank, which says 'turn up' your security settings (whatever that means), and don't click on 'unknown' links (ever). So what you really need is a bootable CD with software so simple and stripped down that it lets you browse the web and nothing else. The nearest I can think of is one of the Linux mini-LiveCD's with Mozilla or some other browser included, such as Damn Small Linux, or ByzantineOS. Such a system shouldn't even know how to speak to your hard drives. Do Slashdot readers know of anything like this?"

4 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. You're insane by cookiepus · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Seriously, there's such a thing as an overabundance of caution.

    How many condoms do you wear during sex? Wait, let me guess, you don't even go into a room with anyone who's ever had sex.

    You can't live you life like that.

    --
    Ecce Europa - Web Design for Business
  2. Re:fighting the wrong fight. by cgenman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I didn't mean to insinuate that it is difficult to take over an ISP (ours had a server owned about once every four months, and we weren't a windows shop), but rather how easy it is to tap, as well as otherwise modify, a phone line. As Mitnick proved, it's easier to convince the phone company to switch a line or add a tap for you than it is to do the legwork yourself.

    --
    The ______ Agenda
  3. What i think you're looking for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Security minded live distro. Phlak.

  4. Re:Hardware insecurity -- don't worry about it by real+gumby · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Someone could have a hardware keylogger
    Just install the required unames and passwords into the autofill data for the browser and put the sites into your booksmarks before you burn the CD. The key logger is unlikely to see much that's interesting.

    If you are afraid of losing the CD and having whomever finds it figure out how to use it, just use the bookmarks part. It's unlikely that someone will be able to connect a keylogged uname and password with the correct bank name (especially if you click on the password field first and type it, then click on the uname field and type it second.

    I mean, internet cafés are incubation sites, but the scammers/keyloggers aren't superhuman!